June 8, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



355 



had health and strength remained equal to its demands; 

 but there came' a time when we thought best to recognize 

 the need of almost total abstinence from the bee-yard. For 

 several years we have aimed to begin the season with no 

 more than two or three colonies, and give to these the least 

 attention possible, without a murmur to let swarms escape 

 and go to the woods, and to cheerfully put off till to-morrow, 

 or next week, or next month, even, the removal of sections 

 which should come off to-day. 



Did we find our bee-keeping profitable employment ? 

 That depends ; if you mean something more than modest 

 wages for time and labor spent — no 1 But if we may count 

 as gains returns which cannot be measured in dollars and 

 cents — yes ! Cyul.\ Linswik. 



Nov. 3, 1898. 



" Getting Farmers to Keep Bees." 



BY \VM. M. WHITNEY. 



UNDER the head of " Editorial Comments," page 264. 

 we find the following quotation, viz.: 



" What shall it profit a man if he ^aiil the whole world and lose Jits 

 own soul "? This is, in my opinion, iust what we as bee-lieep»rs are 

 dointr when we try to keep our farmer brethren out of the bee-business. 

 Let me give you some reasons why it will pay us to induce our farmer 

 neifrhbors to keep a few bees: 



1st. Farmers are learning- that they must spray their fruit-trees, and 

 in so doinir are slaughtering bees by the wholesale. Now, if every other 

 farmer owned oue colony each, just'a hint to them that they might kill 

 all of THKiR bees would be sufficient to prevent this evil. 



2nd. It would be no trouble to get them to subcribe for our modern 

 bee-literature, and thus learn that it requires some effort on our part to 

 produce a paying crop of first-class honey. And they would appreciate 

 our efforts to produce good honey. Xo teacher is as good as experience. 



3rd. They would learn to like honey, and so would consume more of 

 it, thus advancing the price of a first-class article. 



4th. The final outcome will be I speak somewhat from experience 

 not more than one out of ten will ever make a success of bee-keeping ;thus 

 no more honey produced:, but each one. having acquired a taste for 

 honey, will never again be found without honey oa his table thus much 

 more consumed,. And they will all say, '^ I see now that you people earn 

 your moije.v. and that dollars don't roll uphill to you without effort on 

 your part, as I once believed they did." 



Now, I honestly think that this is a fair probability of results: and 

 having cleared my conscience of what seemed to me a duty. 1 submit the 

 loregoing. ' J. H. Tichenor. 



.Now, Mr. Editor, if you had not taken the above advice 

 soinewhat seriously, it would seem scarcely to merit a no- 

 tice. Under the circumstances, I can hardly refrain from 

 telling yott what I think about it. 



Why the author of the above reasons (?), for the en- 

 couragement of farmers to go into the bee-business, should 

 have made choice of the text which he did, from which to 

 preach a serinon, such as he has attempted to do, passes my 

 comprehension. He tells us in his introductory (before he 

 reaches Firstly), that we are in danger of losing our own 

 souls by trying to keep our friends and neig-hbors out of a 

 business which, in his Fourthly, he admits that nine out of 

 ten of them would make a complete failure in attempting. 

 Now. it seems to me, that if we take the advice of our 

 " preacher," and encourage our neighbors to do that which 

 we know they stand teti chances to one to make a complete 

 failure in, we are not doing by them as we would have them 

 do by us ; and all for the sake, as the sequel shows, of put- 

 ting a few paltry dollars into our pockets; or, in the lan- 

 guage of the text, "to gain the whole world." 



The whole proposition seems to be obscure. The 

 " preacher " denounces us for that which he saj's we are 

 doing, and which we have been taught to believe was ac- 

 cording to the spirit of the Gospel, and advises us to do 

 that which it seems his text plainly condemns. 



One is reminded of the sermon of the colored preacher 

 in the South, during the days of slavery. He told his hear- 

 ers that if they did evil, and served the Devil, they would be 

 sure to get " Demnition ;" but if they loved the Lord, and 

 served Him, they would receive " G'wdemnition." One 

 brother, who seemed to grasp the situation, shouted, " Den 

 dis darkey'll take to de woods 1" Now, I must confess that 

 in the light of the instruction here given, I'm inclined, like 

 the darkey, to " take to the woods." The only safe course 

 for bee-keepers to pursue, under the circumstances, is to say 

 nothing to their neighbor upon the subject, neither pro nor 

 con, for if they do they will get " Demnition " anyhow. 



But, seriously, let us consider some of the ideas here 

 advanced. Suppose that every other farmer were induced 

 to deep at least one colony of bees, and, by appealing to his 

 selfish interest, he were kept from spraying his fruit-trees 

 while they were in blossom, what good would that do if the 

 other half of the farmers who don't keep bees saw fit to 



continue spraying? You see, that to make a success of the 

 scheme the whole fraternity must be brought in. 



Well, let us bring a little arithmetic to bear upon the 

 question, and see what the result will be. There are (as an 

 estimate), in round numbers, 3b0,000 farmers in the State of 

 Illinois : and if each were to commence bee-keeping, it 

 vyould require an outlay of at least $10.00 to begin with, 

 making a total outlay 'of S3, 600. 000 for the entire State, 

 nine-tenths of which— or $3.2411,000— is to be absolutely 

 squandered for the sole purpose of instructing the farmer 

 in the matter of spraying his fruit-trees, and to create a 

 taste for honey. Indeed, experience is a faithful teacher, 

 but the price this time is pretty high. 



It is not overstating the case to say that at least nine 

 out of every ten would make a complete failure of the busi- 

 ness, and the g-reater number would get no honey with 

 which to create a taste for more. And, again, not one in a 

 hundred would think of subscribing for a bee-paper; in 

 fact, but few tajce even an agricultural paper. 



I would like to draw a pen picture of what would follow 

 such a scheme in about three years after its inauguration, 

 but time and space will not permit. No, no, it will not 

 work ; and if the author states the facts of the case it 

 ought not to. '■ For what shall it profit a man if he gain 

 the whole world and lose his own soul ?" 



Kankakee Co., 111. 



I 



A Half-Dozen Questions Answered. 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLK. 



AM requested to replv thru the American Bee Journal to 

 the following questions, whicli I will do with the editor's 

 permission : 



GETTING BEES TO BUILD COMB. 



OuES. 1. — "Is there any way to get bees to build comb 

 when they are disinclined to do so ? I fed some colonies 

 until all the vacant comb was filled, but they would not 

 draw out the foundation. This has reference to brood- 

 combs exclusively." 



Ans. — I do not see why you failed here, unless your 

 foundation had some other material in it besides pure bees- 

 wax ; for in all of my experience in feeding, the bees would 

 work foundation as soon as the3' began to secrete wax to 

 lengthen out the cells or cap over the food. But had the 

 bees been persistent in using the combs in the hive rather 

 than work out the foundation, you could have made them 

 work it by taking their combs away from them and allow- 

 ing nothing but foundation. In this case they would have 

 to work the foundation in order to find space, or a place to 

 store the food, after they had their honey-sacs well filled. 



INDUCING BEES TO WORK OVER WAX. 



QuES. 2. — " To what extent can bees be induced to work 

 over wax ? Do you not suppose wax could be incorporated 

 with thick sugar syrup in some way so that the bees would 

 work it the second time ?" 



Ans. — There has been considerable experimenting along 

 the line of havitig old wax workt over by the bees, such as 

 shaving it up in sj-rup, etc., but I believe it has been ac- 

 knowledged by all who have tried it, to be a waste of time 

 and wax, when compared with having the wax made into 

 foundation. 



STRAIGHTENING BUCKLED OR BENT COMBS. 



QuES. 3. — " What is the best course to pursue with 

 brood-combs that are buckled or bent, so that some of the 

 cells are not deep enough for breeding ? Is there any way 

 of bringing thetn straight ? The foundation evidently be- 

 came bent before the bees workt it out." 



Ans. — There was a neglect on the part of some one in 

 having the foundation bent when it was given the bees, or 

 in giving it at such times that the bees did not commence 

 work on it at once, before it had a chance to warp or twist 

 about in the hive. It is best to give brood-foundation to 

 bees only at such times as they are wanting more combs ; 

 for unless they do so want, it will not be toucht by the bees 

 unless perchance to mutilate it, because they have nothing 

 to do but mischief. 



Then, it is generally better to use foundation in the 

 brood-chamber only in connection with wired frames, which 

 entirely prevents the foundation from .sagging or twisting 

 about. I5ut having combs as described, there are two ways 

 of fixing them fit for use by the bees. The first is, by melt- 

 ing them up and working over into foundation again — a 

 plan recommended by some of our more advanced bee-keep- 



